Decentralized authoritative messaging

ABSTRACT

A secure chat client is described that allows users to exchange encrypted communications via secure chat rooms, as well as one-to-one communications. In particular, the secure chat client allows users to create, configure, and manage secure chat rooms. Furthermore, the secure chat client provides users with the ability to recover secure messages when they obtain a new device or otherwise lose communications.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/056,938, entitled DECENTRALIZED AUTHORITATIVE MESSAGINGfiled Feb. 29, 2016 which is incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/269,887, entitled “Decentralized Authoritative Messaging,” filedDec. 18, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Companies today are faced with the challenge of providing communicationtools to support an increasingly mobile workforce. Enterprises who valuethe privacy and secrecy of their sensitive communications shouldconsider who sits in the middle of their electronic communications.Between foreign governments and infrastructure providers, theopportunity to capture unprotected text messages, chat rooms, phonecalls, and emails deliberately is real. Thus, there is a need for asecure communications tool that allows enterprises to collaborate viasecure chat rooms and one-to-one communications to accommodate a mobileworkforce.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the followingdetailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for providing secure communicationsaccording to one embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a client device that transmits and receives encryptedcommunications using a secure messaging app.

FIG. 3 illustrates a process for transmitting encrypted datagrams.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process for receiving and decrypting a datagramreceived from a sender.

FIG. 5 shows a process for creating a secure chat room.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an interface for creating a secure roomaccording to one embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a process for receiving an invitation to a securechat room.

FIG. 8 illustrates a secure chat room interface according to anotherembodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a process for handling received messages fora secure chat room.

FIG. 10 illustrates a process for responding to a receiver's request foradditional information.

FIG. 11 illustrates a process for making changes to a secure chat room.

FIG. 12 shows a process for restoring chat room messages toparticipants' devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes a system and method for creating andmanaging secure chat rooms. Secure chat rooms allow groups of users,such as team members or departments, to collaborate on projects andshare information. In some aspects, sharing information may includeconfidential or proprietary information. The present disclosuredescribes a secure messaging app that provides users the ability toexchange encrypted communications via secure chat rooms, as well asone-to-one communications.

In order to create a secure chat room, a user accesses the securemessaging app and elects to create a new room. The user creating theroom is a room administrator by default. However, the user may designateone or more room administrators. Additionally, the user may configureone or more parameters for the secure chat room, including a title ofthe room, a description of the room, and a Time-to-Live parameter formessages. Next, the user may add participants to the secure chat room.Once the user has set the parameters for the secure chat room, theuser's secure messaging app may generate a group identifier for thesecure chat room. The parameters and group identifier may be bundled andtransmitted to the secure room's participants via an encrypted messagethat instructs the receivers' secure messaging apps to create a secureroom. The room creator will store the information for the secure chatroom in an encrypted format in a local database on the user's device.

In response to receiving the encrypted message, the participants' securemessaging app may decrypt the message and begin creating and configuringthe secure chat room in accordance with the information provided by theroom creator. In particular, the participants' secure message app mayuse the one or more parameters set by the room creator to set the roomtitle, the room description, the Time-to-Live for messages, and displaythe list of participants. After creating the secure chat room, thereceivers' secure messaging app may store the secure room informationand transaction information for the secure chat room in the receivers'local databases. The secure room information and transaction informationmay be stored in a block chain format, such that each participant of thesecure chat room documents all commands and communications. In thisregard, the secure chat room is managed in a distributed manner by allthe participants of the room, and not centrally on a server.

Once the secure chat room is created, participants may exchangeencrypted communications for the chat room. Further, room administratorsmay update one or more parameters of the secure chat room after the roomis created. However, the updates to one or more secure chat roomparameters may cause a participants' secure messaging app to notrecognize a received communication. For example, a secure messaging appmay not recognize a sender of a communication after the participant listhas been changed. Alternatively, a secure messaging app may notrecognize an updated group identifier of a received communication.

To handle these situations, and others like them, the participant'ssecure messaging app transmits a request to the sender of theunrecognized message to obtain additional information. The request mayinclude a group identifier and a message identifier for the sender'sreference.

In response to the request, the sender may use the group identifier andmessage identifier to provide the sender with additional information.The additional information may include details for the participant toretrieve and decrypt the encrypted message. For example, the details mayinclude metadata, the message identifier, and the message encryptionkey. In this regard, the participant may obtain the encrypted messagefrom a security platform using the metadata and message identifier anddecrypt the message using the message encryption key. Accordingly, theparticipant may subsequently update the secure chat room information,including transaction information, in response to successfullydecrypting the message.

If a participant is missing communications or fails to recognize amessage, the participant may send a recover lost communications requestto another participant to obtain secure chat room communications over acertain period of time. For example, the participant may send therecover lost communications message to the last sender to provide acommunication to the secure chat room. In response to the recover lostcommunications message, the sender may determine which communicationsthe requester was a participant for. Accordingly, the sender maygenerate a communication information array providing details for therequester to retrieve the messages from the security platform. In someembodiments, the recover lost communications message may come from anadministrator and the sender will provide the requester with the securechat room's entire history.

While the examples described herein are described with respect torestoring a user's account to a new device, the systems and processesmay be applicable to other techniques.

The present disclosure can be implemented in numerous ways, including asa process; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computerprogram product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium; and/or a processor, such as a processor configured to executeinstructions stored on and/or provided by a memory coupled to theprocessor. These implementations, or any other form that the presentdisclosure may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, theorder of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within thescope of the present disclosure. Unless stated otherwise, a componentsuch as a processor or a memory described as being configured to performa task may be implemented as a general component that is temporarilyconfigured to perform the task at a given time or a specific componentthat is manufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term‘processor’ refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processingcores configured to process data, such as computer program instructions.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided below along with accompanying figures thatillustrate the principles of the present disclosure. The presentdisclosure is described in connection with such embodiments, but thepresent disclosure is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of thepresent disclosure is limited only by the claims and the presentdisclosure encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications, andequivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the followingdescription in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presentdisclosure. These details are provided for the purpose of example andthe present disclosure may be practiced according to the claims withoutsome or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity,technical material that is known in the technical fields related to thepresent disclosure has not been described in detail so that the presentdisclosure is not unnecessarily obscured.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an environment in which securecommunications are exchanged. In particular, FIG. 1 illustrates a firstclient device 210, second client device 220, and third client device 230connected to security platform 120, located on server 100, via network112.

Typically, secure communications are exchanged using secure messagedatagrams, which encapsulate a sender's message. The datagram alsoallows information such as encryption information, hardware bindinginformation, message security controls, and decryption information—formultiple receivers (as applicable)—to securely travel with the message.The secure message datagram also provides cross-platform support so thatusers may communicate regardless of their operating systems (e.g.,Linux, iOS, and Windows), smart phone platforms (e.g., iPhone, Android,Windows, Blackberry, etc.), and device types (e.g., mobile smart phones,tablets, laptops, desktops, etc.). Using the techniques describedherein, only intended accounts on intended devices are able to decryptthe messages. Thus, for example, the security platform 120 is unable todecrypt messages. As will further be described in more detail below,using the techniques described herein, message participants can maintaina forward secret secure messaging channel, whether communicatingsynchronously (e.g., where all participants are online or otherwise ableto communicate with platform 120) or asynchronously (e.g., where atleast one participant is offline or otherwise not in communication withplatform 120).

As shown in FIG. 1, security platform 120 may be implemented on server100. Server 100 may include a processor 102, memory 104, user directory106, and the security platform 120. In this regard, server 100 may be astand-alone server, a corporate server, or a server located in a serverfarm or cloud-computing environment. In some embodiments, the server 100may be a cloud service provider running a virtual machine configured toprovide security platform 120 to an enterprise as a Software as aService (SaaS).

Processor 102 may be any conventional processor capable of interactingwith memory 104, user directory 106, and security platform 120. In thisregard, processor 102 may include a processor, multiprocessors, amulticore processor, or any combination thereof. Alternatively,processor 102 may be a dedicated controller, such as an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA).

Memory 104 stores information accessible by processor 102, includinginstructions and data that may be executed or otherwise used by theprocessor 102. Memory 104 may be any type of media capable of storinginformation accessible by the processor, including a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or any other suitable medium that stores datathat may be read with the aid of an electronic device, such as ahard-drive, solid state drive, memory card, flash drive, ROM, RAM, DVD,or other optical disks, as well as other write-capable and read-onlymemories. Memory 104 may include short term or temporary storage as wellas long term or persistent storage. According to some embodiments,memory 104 may include a storage area network (SAN) accessible by thesecurity platform 120.

User directory 106 may be any database or table capable of providingdirectory services. For example, user directory may include a corporatedirectory that include employees' first and last names, usernames, emailaddress, phone numbers, department information, etc. Alternatively, userdirectory 106 may be a database or table to maintain user informationfor users of security platform 120. In this regard, user directory 106may be encrypted. In some embodiments, user directory 106 may serve as asecure directory that includes a table of hashed usernames, a table ofappIDs, and a table of deviceIDs for a secure messaging app.Accordingly, user directory 106 may be used to share information aboutusers, systems, networks, services and applications. According to someembodiments, the user directory 106 may include a Lightweight DirectoryAccess Protocol (LDAP).

Although FIG. 1 illustrates processor 102, memory 104, user directory106, and security platform 120 as being located on server 100, processor102 and memory 104 may comprise multiple processors and memories thatmay or may not be stored within the same physical housing. For example,memory 104 may be a hard drive or other storage media located in aserver farm of a data center. Accordingly, references to a processor, acomputer, or a memory will be understood to include references to acollection of processors or computers or memories that may or may notoperate in parallel. Further, the user directory 106 may be located in aseparate physical housing from processing engine 102 and memory 104.Moreover, security platform 120 may be distributed across multipleservers.

Security platform 120 may be configured to facilitate the exchange ofcommunications for users of a secure messaging app. As used herein,“communications” and “messages” may take a variety of forms, including:text messages, chat room messages, control messages, commands, e-mails,documents, audiovisual files, Short Message Service messages (SMSes),voice calls (i.e., VOIP), and video calls. Additionally, the content ofthe messages and/or communications may pertain to electronictransactions, such as credit card security, password protection,directories, and storage drive protection, video on demand security,online gaming, gambling, electronic distribution of music, videos,documents, online learning systems, databases, cloud storage and cloudenvironments, bank transactions, voting processes, militarycommunications, security of medical records, communication betweenmedically implanted devices and doctors, etc. The exchange of messagesand/or communications is explained in further detail below.

Security platform 120 may provide encrypted communications that easilyintegrate into and secure existing systems while providing compliant andsecure communications. In this regard, security platform 120 mayintegrate with existing identity systems, such as user directory 106.Further, security platform 120 may include built-in support forenterprise data retention and support systems.

Security platform 120 may also include database 130. Database 130 may bea relational database that stores information in a variety of tables. Inthis regard, database 130 may include a record for each user of platform120 to allow users to find other users and communicate with other users.Accordingly, database 130 may include a table of hashed usernames 132, atable of public keys and reference values 134, a table of appIDs 136,and a table of deviceIDs 138. Each user record may include a hashedusername in table 132, a pool of ECDH public components and associatedreference values in table 134, app ID(s) in table 136, and deviceID(s)in table 138. Additionally, each user record may store privacy mode andprivacy list entries to control with whom the user may communicate.Additionally, database 130 may include a table of messages 140. That is,the security platform may store messages for a predetermined time intable 140. For example, when a message is received, the securityplatform may store the message in the table of messages and provide analert, such as a push notification, to the receiver. Accordingly, areceiver may access the security platform to obtain his or her messagesstored in table 140. In preferred embodiments, table 140 may storemessages for 30 days; however, this may be adjusted, as needed, based onindustry standards and/or to comply with regulatory schemes.

While a database is shown in FIG. 1, other techniques can be used tostore the information used by platform 120 to facilitate exchange ofmessages. For example, the table of messages may be stored in a separatestorage, such as memory 104, instead of being stored within database130. Alternatively, the information contained in the database may bedivided between database 130 and user directory 106. In this regard,database 130 and user directory 106 may interface to exchangeinformation. Further, additional information can be securely stored onplatform 120, whether in database 130 or another appropriate location,such as user verification information and user verification settings.

Security platform 120 may include one or more interface(s) 122 forcommunicating with client devices 210, 220, and 230. As one example,platform 120 may provide an application programming interface (API)configured to communicate with apps installed on client devices.Platform 120 may also provide other types of interfaces, such as a webinterface, or stand alone software programs for desktops and laptops,running on various Operating Systems (OSes). The web interface may allowusers of client devices to exchange messages securely (whether with oneanother or other users), without the need for a separately installedmessaging application. The standalone software program may allow usersto exchange secure messages via software that is downloaded by eachuser. According to some embodiments, platform 120 may make available amaster clock time available via the one or more interface(s) 122. Themaster clock time may be used by client apps to enforce securetime-to-live (TTL) values of messages. The TTL values can be used toenforce (e.g., on behalf of a message sender) time constraints onmessage access (e.g., by a receiver).

Users of client devices, such as client devices 210, 220, 230, maycommunicate securely with one another using the techniques describedherein. For example, client devices 210, 220, 230 may make use of thesecurity platform 120 and the techniques described herein via a securemessaging app (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, client devices may bemobile devices, such as a laptop, smart phone, or tablet, or computingdevices, such as desktop computers or servers. As noted above, thesecure messaging app described herein allows cross-platformcommunications, thereby allowing users of various devices to communicateseamlessly. Further, each user may have different instances of themessaging app across multiple devices. That is, the user of device 210may be able to receive messages on both device 210 as well as on anyother devices that the user may have that includes a copy of the securemessaging app, such as a laptop. In some embodiments, client devices210, 220, 230 may be the users' personal devices (i.e. a bring your owndevice (BYOD) scenario). Alternatively, client devices may include othertypes of devices, such as game consoles, camera/video recorders, videoplayers (e.g., incorporating DVD, Blu-ray, Red Laser, Optical, and/orstreaming technologies), smart TVs, and other network-connectedappliances, as applicable.

Communications between users of client devices 210, 220, 230 may beexchanged via network 112. Network 112 may include variousconfigurations and use various protocols including the Internet, WorldWide Web, intranets, virtual private networks, local Ethernet networks,private networks using communication protocols proprietary to one ormore companies, cellular and wireless networks (e.g., WiFi), instantmessaging, HTTP and SMTP, and various combinations of the foregoing.

As will be described in more detail below, processor 102 may perform aplurality of tasks on behalf of security platform 120. Furthermore,whenever platform 120 is described as performing a task, either a singlecomponent or a subset of components or all components of platform 120 orenterprise server 100 may cooperate to perform the task. For example,platform 120 may designate one of the keys in a pool of ECDH publiccomponents received from a user of a device as a “reserve” key. Anothertask performed by platform 120 may include facilitating the addition ofnew keys to a user's pool of public components as they are used. Yetanother task performed by platform 120 may include dynamically adjustingthe size of a user's pool of public components as needed.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary client device 200 that may access thesecurity platform 120 via a secure messaging app. In this regard, clientdevice 200 includes a processor 202, a memory 204, a display 206, an I/Ounit 208, a cryptographic (“crypto”) accelerator 212, and a networkinterface 214 all interconnected by bus 216.

Processor 202 may be any conventional processor capable of interactingwith the components of client device 200. For example, processor 202 mayinclude a processor, multiprocessors, multicore processor, a dedicatedcontroller, such as an ASIC or an FPGA, or any combination thereof.Memory 204 may store information accessible by processor 202, includinginstructions and data that may be executed or otherwise used by theprocessor 202 and/or crypto accelerator 212. For example, memory 204 maystore instructions, such as app 224. In preferred embodiments, app 224may be a secure messaging app that provides users with the ability totransmit and receive encrypted communications. Encrypted communicationsmay include direct communications (e.g., one-to-one communicationsbetween a sender and receiver), group chats, or secure chat roomcommunications. Data stored by memory 204 may include database 234.Database 234 may be encrypted via an encryption algorithm, such asAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES), and a 256-bit key, referred tohereinafter as a local storage key. In some embodiments, database 234may be used to store information related to secure messaging app 224.For example, database 234 may index communications transmitted andreceived by the secure messaging app, including a message identifier, ahash of the sender's username, a hash of the sender's appID, a hash ofthe receiver's username, a hash of the receiver's appID, the messageencryption key, and a timestamp of the message. According to anotherexample, database 234 may store information related to secure chatrooms. In this regard, the database may create a block chain oftransactions for the secure chat room. Each transaction in the blockchain may include the message identifier, a group identifier, the hashof the sender's username, the hash of the sender's appID, the hash ofthe receiver's username, the hash of the receiver's appID, a messagetype, the message encryption key, and the timestamp of the message. Themessage type may specify whether the message is a control message or astandard communication. Control messages are either authoritativecontrol messages or non-authoritative control messages. Authoritativecontrol messages originate from room administrators and modify a stateof the secure chat room. For example, authoritative control messages mayinclude commands, such as creating the secure chat room, modifying thesecure chat room (e.g., changing the TTL), or deleting the secure chatroom. Secure chat room participants other than the room administratormay send non-authoritative control messages. For instance, when aparticipant opts to leave a secure chat room, his or her securemessaging app will send a non-authoritative control message indicatingthat the user has left the secure chat room. Control messages may bestored by participants of the secure chat room, regardless of the TTLset for the secure chat room. That is, control messages may not bedeleted by secure chat room participants' secure message apps accordingto the TTL set for the secure chat room. As will be discussed in greaterdetail below, these control messages may be used by participants shouldany confusion arise regarding the state of the secure chat room.Alternatively, all control messages for a secure chat room may bemaintained in a block chain until the next authoritative control messageis received. After receiving an authoritative control message,participants' apps may purge all previous control messages, includingearlier authoritative and non-authoritative control messages. Standardcommunications may include content for the secure chat room including,for example, text, images, video, audio, and other multimedia content.Standard communications are maintained in the block chain according tothe TTL set for the secure chat room. For example, if the secure chatroom has a TTL of 24 hours, standard communications may be deleted fromthe block chain 24 hours after the transaction has been created.Additionally, each transaction in the block chain may be signed using asecret shared amongst the room participants. In this way, a record ofthe secure chat room is maintained by each participant, and notcentrally on the security platform or another server. Accordingly,memory 204 may be any type of media capable of storing the informationabove, including a non-transitory computer-readable medium or any othersuitable medium that stores data that may be read with the aid of anelectronic device, such as a hard-drive, solid state drive, memory card,flash drive, ROM, RAM, DVD, or other optical disks, as well as otherwrite-capable and read-only memories. Memory 104 may include short termor temporary storage as well as long term or persistent storage.

Display 206 may be any electronic device capable of visually presentinginformation. In mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets,display 206 may be a touchscreen display. In this regard, display 206may be integrated with I/O unit 208 to detect user inputs, as well asoutput data. In computing devices, display 206 may be an output, such asa VGA, DVI, or HDMI output, configured to connect to a monitor. I/O unit208 may be capable of receiving input from a user. As noted above, theI/O unit 208 may work with touchscreen displays to receive input from auser. Alternatively, the I/O unit may be an interface capable ofinteracting with input and output devices, such as keyboards, mice,monitors, printers, etc.

Crypto accelerator 212 may be dedicated hardware, software, or acombination thereof that is capable of performing cryptographicoperations, such as key generation, random number generation,encryption/decryption, signature generation, signature verification,etc. In preferred embodiments, crypto accelerator 212 is a dedicatedprocessor configured to perform cryptographic operations on behalf ofprocessor 202. In this regard, app 224 may make use of cryptoaccelerator 212 to provide the secure communication functions describedin greater detail below.

Network interface 214 may be dedicated hardware, software, or acombination thereof that is capable of connecting client device 200 tonetwork 112. In this regard, network interface 214 may include variousconfigurations and use various communication protocols includingEthernet, TCP/IP, ATM, cellular and wireless communication protocols(e.g. 802.11, LTE), instant messaging, HTTP and SMTP, and variouscombinations of the foregoing.

In order to send and receive secure communications, both the sender andreceiver need to have a copy of the app running on their respectivedevices. In this regard, FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary process fortransmitting encrypted communications using the app 224. The methodbegins in bock 305, with the sender's app obtaining the intendedreceiver's public information. Obtaining the intended receiver's publicinformation may include transmitting a request to the security platform,or another secure directory, for the intended receiver's publicinformation. In response to receiving the request, the security platformor secure directory responds with the intended receiver's publicinformation. In this regard, the public information may include at leastone of the receiver's app ID, user-level signing public key, signedapp-level signing public key, a signed ephemeral ECDH public component,an identifier of the ephemeral ECDH public component, and the receiver'sdevice key. In preferred embodiments, the security platform may randomlyselect one of the signed ephemeral ECDH public components from a pool ofpublic components that the receiver has previously uploaded to securityplatform 120. Further, the security platform will delete the selectedephemeral ECDH public component so it is not used for any subsequentcommunications. If the receiver has multiple instances of the appinstalled on different devices, the sender's app will receive a uniquesigned app-level signing public key, signed ephemeral ECDH publiccomponent, identifier of the ephemeral ECDH public component, and devicekey for each instance of app in block 305. The multiple instanceinformation may be provided in an arrayed response by the securityplatform.

In block 310, the sender's app authenticates the public informationreceived from the security platform. In this regard, the user-levelsigning public key received from security platform is used to verify asignature attached to the app-level signing public key. If the receiverhas multiple instances of the app, the sender's app will authenticatethe app-level public key for each of the receiver's apps. When thesignature attached to the app-level public key is successfullyvalidated, the sender's app uses the app-level signing public key tovalidate the signatures appended to the received ephemeral ECDH publiccomponent.

After authenticating the receiver's public information, the senderbegins composing their message to the receiver in block 315. While thesender is preparing the message, the sender's app generates a random,256-bit message key in block 320. According to some embodiments, thesender's app may use the crypto accelerator described above to generatethe message key. In preferred embodiments, the message key is asymmetric key generated by applying multiple rounds of a hash functionto a set of pseudorandom bytes derived from the sender's device. Thepseudorandom bytes may be obtained from appropriate sources, such asephemeral environmental noise obtained from device drivers and otherkernel operations. Once the message is composed and the message keygenerated, the sender's app will encrypt the message in block 325. Thesecure messaging app may encrypt the message, via the cryptoaccelerator, using a symmetric encryption algorithm. In someembodiments, the secure messaging app encrypts the message using theAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES).

In block 330, the sender's app generates a pair of ephemeral ECDHcomponents. The pair of ephemeral ECDH components is generated usingECC. In block 335, the sender's app derives a key-encrypting key usingthe receiver's ephemeral ECDH public component and the ephemeral ECDHprivate component generated by the sender's app. In preferredembodiments, the key-encrypting key is a 256-bit key derived using ECDH.

In block 340, the message key is encrypted using the key-encrypting key.In preferred embodiments, the message key is encrypted by the cryptoaccelerator using AES and the key-encrypting key. Next, in block 345,the sender's app encrypts the encrypted message key again using thereceiver's device key obtained with the receiver's public information.Preferably, the encrypted message key is encrypted by the cryptoaccelerator using AES and the receiver's device key. Encrypting themessage key with an ephemeral component generated by the receiver's appand the device key provides a twice-encrypted message key thateffectively binds the message to the receiver's secure messaging app anddevice.

In block 350, the sender's app determines whether the receiver hasmultiple instances of the app installed on a plurality of devices. Ifso, the sender's app repeats blocks 335, 340, and 345 for each instanceof the receiver's app. In this regard, each instance will receive atwice-encrypted message key that is unique to that instantiation of thesecure messaging app. Accordingly, each instance will only be able todecrypt the twice-encrypted message key that has been encrypted with theapp's unique device key and ephemeral public component.

When twice-encrypted message keys have been generated for each of thereceiver's instantiations of the app, the sender's app begins preparinga datagram in block 355. The datagram includes a payload and a header.The payload comprises the encrypted message, while the header includesdestination entries for each of receiver's apps. That is, the sender'sapp addresses the message in a one-to-many manner. For instance, thesender addresses the message to the receiver, but the sender's appcomposes a datagram that is addressed to each of the receiver's apps.Accordingly, each destination entry includes the twice-encrypted messagekey specific to that app; the ephemeral ECDH key identifier unique tothe receiver's app; and the sender's signed ephemeral public component.

Once the datagram is assembled, the sender's app will transmit thedatagram to the receiver in block 360. In preferred embodiments, thesender's app may transmit the datagram to the security platform.Accordingly, the security platform will notify receivers that they havenew messages waiting for them. Alternatively, the sender and receivermay communicate in a peer-to-peer setting. According to theseembodiments, the sender's app may transmit the datagram directly to thereceiver in block 360.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process for receiving and decrypting adatagram received from a sender. In block 410, the receiver receives thesender's datagram. As noted above, retrieving the sender's datagram maybe in response to receiving an alert, such as a push notification, fromthe security platform. The receiver's secure messaging app may connectto the security platform and download the sender's datagram.Alternatively, the receiver's secure messaging app may receive thesender's datagram directly from the sender via a peer-to-peercommunication.

In block 420, the receiver's secure messaging app decrypts thetwice-encrypted message key using the device key associated with thereceiver's device. Next, the receiver's secure messaging app uses theECDH component identifier to retrieve the ephemeral ECDH privatecomponent that corresponds to the public component used to generate thekey-encrypting key in block 430. Next, in block 440, the receiver'ssecure messaging app derives the key-encrypting key using the retrievedephemeral private component and the sender's ephemeral public componentthat was received in the datagram. After deriving the key-encryptingkey, the receiver's secure messaging app decrypts the encrypted messagekey in block 450 to obtain a decrypted message key. In block 460, thedecrypted message key is used to decrypt the message contained in thesender's datagram. In preferred embodiments, the message is decryptedvia a symmetric encryption/decryption scheme, such as AES. Finally, thedecrypted message is provided to the receiver in block 470. Thedecrypted message may be encrypted locally on the receiver's deviceusing a local storage key. In this regard, the secure messaging appencrypts messages at rest on the receiver's device. The local storagekey may be a 256-bit key that is used to encrypt data on the receiver'sdevice using a symmetric encryption algorithm, such as AES. Thus, thesecure messaging app secures data, both in-transit and at-rest.

In addition to providing secure communications, the app 224 may providesecure chat rooms that allow groups of people to communicate securely.FIG. 5 shows an exemplary process for creating a secure chat room.

The process begins in block 510, when a user, referred to hereinafter asa “room administrator” or “room admin,” creates a secure room. Creatinga secure room may be similar to creating a secure message to a receiver.That is, the room administrator may select a “New Secure Room” icon.Alternatively, the room administrator may be able to create a new secureroom from a drop down menu. In other alternatives, the app may promptthe user as to whether he or she would like to create a secure room whencreating a new message.

Once the secure room is created, the room administrator may set thesecure room's preferences in block 520. Setting the secure room'spreferences may include assigning room administrator privileges to otherparticipants of the secure chat room. Additionally, or alternatively,setting the room preferences may include assigning the secure chat rooma title, adding a description of the room, and/or setting a Time-to-Live(TTL) for messages submitted to the chat room. The TTL for messages mayspecify how long participants can view messages in the group chat.According to preferred embodiments, the TTL may be specified by the roomadministrator and apply to all chats submitted to the secure chat room.Alternatively, the TTL may be set by the sender of a communication. Insome embodiments, the TTL may be set for the secure chat room, butsenders may have the option to change the TTL for individualcommunications.

After setting the room preferences, the room administrator may addparticipants to the secure room in block 530. Adding participants to thesecure room may include selecting usernames from a directory. Forexample, if the app is used by an enterprise, participants may be addedto a group chat from the enterprise's corporate directory.Alternatively, the participants may be added based on an external uniqueidentifier, such as a telephone number or an email address. If theexternal users do not have a copy of the app, they may be prompted toobtain a copy from a third party.

In block 540, the room administrator's app generates a group identifierfor the secure chat room. In preferred embodiments, the group identifiermay be a hash of the room title and description. Alternatively, thegroup identifier may be a random identifier generated by a pseudorandomnumber generator. In this regard, the group identifier may be any uniqueidentifier used by the secure messaging apps to identify which chat roomreceived communications belong to. Next, the sender's app generatessecure room information in block 550. The secure room information mayinclude the room preferences set by the room administrator and the groupidentifier generated by the sender's app.

In block 560, a “Create Secure Room” control message is transmitted toparticipants of the secure chat room. In this regard, the “Create SecureRoom” message may include a command instructing the participants' appsto create a secure room. Further, the “Create Secure Room” message mayinclude the secure room information and metadata that identifies theparticipants of the secure chat room. In preferred embodiments, hashedusernames of the secure chat room's participants are included in themetadata. The “Create Secure Room” command, the secure room information,and the metadata are transmitted to room participants in the payload ofthe secure datagram described above. That is, the “Create Secure Room”command, the secure room information, and the metadata may be encryptedwith a random message key, which is encrypted using information uniqueto each room participant. Accordingly, participants of the secure chatroom may be able to decrypt the random “Create Secure Room” messageusing the techniques described above.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an exemplary interface for creating a secureroom. In particular, FIGS. 6A and 6B show an interface 600 for the app224. Interface 600 displays user information in field 605. The userinformation may include the user's name, their username, and an avatarthat may be displayed to other users. The avatar may be the user'sinitials, the initials of their username, a photo, or an image that theuser selected. As illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the user informationfor interface 600 belongs to “Alice Adams.” In field 610, the user'ssecure rooms may be displayed. When field 610 is selected, the roomsfield may change to a create room option. Field 615 may display thesecure rooms that the user is a participant in. For example, interface600 shows that Alice Adams is a member of three secure chat rooms: TestRoom 1, Test Room 2, and Test Room 3. Field 620 shows the user'smessages. In particular, field 625 may list all the one-to-onecommunication sessions that the user has open. In the exampleillustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, Alice Adams is involved in securecommunications sessions with three users: Bob Redliub, Charlie Bucket,and Willy Wonka.

When the user wishes to create a new secure chat room, a “Create a Room”window 630 is displayed. The “Create a Room” window 630 includes aplurality of fields for the user, Alice Adams, to set preferences forthe secure chat room. For example, field 635 may be a “Title Field”where the user may enter a title for the secure chat room. Field 640 maybe a “Purpose Field” so that a user may enter a brief description of theroom. According to some embodiments, the “Purpose Field” 640 may beoptional. Additionally, the window 630 may include a “TTL Field” 645that allows the room administrator to set a TTL for the communicationsof the secure chat room. FIG. 6B illustrates field 645 as a drop downmenu displaying a plurality of options for the length with whichcommunications will be available to room participants. While the TTL isdisplayed as a drop down menu, additional interfaces, such as radiobuttons or a sliding bar, may be used to define the TTL value for thesecure chat room. Additionally, the TTL may set to a plurality ofvalues. For example, the TTL may be turned off or set to either 10minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, or 30 days. In this regard, the TTL maybe configured based on user needs.

Field 650 is a search field to allow the user to add participants to thesecure chat room. According to preferred embodiments, field 650 mayallow users to search for participants based on username, phone number,email address, or other unique identifying information. Field 655 maylist the participants of the secure chat room. The participants may belisted alphabetically. Alternatively, room administrators may be listedfirst with chat room participants listed thereafter in alphabeticalorder. Icon 660 may be used to distinguish room administrators fromother participants. In this regard, icon 660 may appear next to allusers who have been delegated room administrator privileges. Field 665may be a directory listing all users in alphabetical order. In thisregard, users may use field 665 to select participants for the securechat room. Once the user has set all the chat room preferences andselected the chat room participants, the user may select button 670 tocreate the secure chat room. In response to selecting button 670, the“Create a Secure Room” message will be sent to all chat roomparticipants.

In response to receiving the “Create a Secure Room” message, areceiver's app may create a secure room based on the informationcontained therein. FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary process for receivingan invitation to a secure chat room. In block 710, the participantreceives the “Create Secure Room” message from the room creator. Asnoted above, receiving the “Create Secure Room” message may be inresponse to the participant receiving an alert, such as a pushnotification, from the security platform. In response to receiving thealert, the participant's app may connect to the security platform anddownload the “Create Secure Room” message. Alternatively, the receiver'sapp may receive the “Create Secure Room” message directly from thesender via a peer-to-peer communication. In block 720, the receiver'sapp decrypts the received “Create Secure Room” message using thetechniques described above with respect to FIG. 4.

Once the “Create Secure Room” message is decrypted, the receiver's appextracts the secure room information from the “Create Secure Room”message in block 730. Next, in block 740, the receiver's app obtains alist of participants from the metadata included in “Create Secure Room”message. As noted above, the list of participants may include hashedusernames for the participants of the secure chat room. Accordingly, thereceiver's app may compare the hashed username to usernames stored inthe directory to display the participant's actual name. If the hashedusername does not appear in the directory, the receiver's app may justdisplay the username or other identifying information until the app isable to resolve the user's name to the username.

In block 750, the receiver's app creates the secure chat room. Inparticular, the receiver's app may use the secure room information andlist of participants received in the “Create Secure Room” message tocreate and configure the secure chat room. Configuring the secure chatroom may include displaying the title at the top of the chat room,displaying a room description below the room's title, and setting theTTL for the chat room. This information may be displayed in the securechat room or available through a series of menu options.

After creating the secure chat room, the receiver's app may store thesecure room information locally in the receiver's database in block 760.In preferred embodiments, the receiver's app creates a block chain forthe secure chat room. As noted above, the block chain may index eachtransaction for the secure chat room, with the first entry in the blockchain being the “Create Secure Room” message. In some embodiments, theblock chain may be verified by other participants of the secure chatroom before being stored in the receiver's database. That is,participants may corroborate each block chain entry within apredetermined time frame. After it is stored locally in the receiver'sdatabase, the secure room information may be encrypted using thereceiver app's local storage key, in block 770. Additionally, metadataassociated with the secure chat room may also be encrypted with thelocal storage key.

After creating the secure chat room, participants may send and receivemessages to the secure chat room using the techniques described above.For example, sending a message to a secure chat room may be similar tothe techniques described above with respect to FIG. 3 with the additionof a group identifier being added to the message. Similarly, a receivingapp may decrypt messages and use the group identifier to associate thereceived message with the secure chat room associated with the groupidentifier. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a secure chat room 800.Similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B above, secure chat room 800 displays userinformation in field 805. Field 810 displays the user's secure chatrooms, and field 815 illustrates that “Test Room 3” is selected.Accordingly, when different secure chat rooms are selected, differentrooms may be highlighted. Similarly, field 820 shows the user'smessages, while field 825 lists the user's individual communications.Continuing the example above, secure chat room 800 shows that AliceAdams is the user, and she belongs to three secure chat rooms and isparticipating in three one-to-one communication sessions. Furthermore,FIG. 8 shows that Test Room 3 is selected.

Test Room 3 is displayed is displayed in secure chat room 800. Inparticular, secure chat room 800 includes the room title in field 830, asearch field 835, the TTL status in field 840, and the participants ofsecure chat room in field 845. Search field 835 provides users with theability to do a text search for communications made in the secure chatroom. Further, selecting field 845 may change the display to list allthe participants in the secure chat room. The text of the secure chatroom is displayed in 850. Further, a text box 855 is provided so thatthe user, Alice Adams, may enter messages and submit them to the securechat room.

The techniques described above discuss creating and configuring a securechat room, as well as sending encrypted communications to the securechat room. In this regard, the app needs to be able to distinguishone-to-one communications from those that belong to secure chat roomsand deliver those messages that belong to secure chat rooms to theappropriate secure chat room. FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an exemplaryprocess for handling received messages.

In block 905, the receiver's app receives a message. As noted above,this may include downloading the message from the security platform inresponse to receiving an alert, or, alternatively, receiving the messagedirectly from the sender. In block 910, the receiver's app decrypts themessage using the techniques described above with respect to FIG. 4.

In block 915, the receiver's app determines whether the received messageis for a secure chat room or whether it is a one-to-one communicationbetween the receiver and another user. For example, the receiver's appmay determine from the message type field whether the message isintended for a secure chat room. In other examples, the receiver's appmay determine if a group identifier is included in the message. If agroup identifier is included in the message, then the receiver's app maydetermine that the message is a chat room message. If the receivedmessage is not for a secure chat room, then the receiver's app providesthe decrypted message as a one-to-one communication in block 917.

If the message is destined for a secure chat room, then the receiver'sapp determines whether the received message belongs to an existing roomor group in block 925. In this regard, the receiver's app may comparethe received group identifier to group identifiers maintained in thedevice's local database to determine which group, if any, the messagebelongs to. If the receiver's app determines that the message does notbelong to an existing room or group in block 925, the process proceedsto block 945 where the receiver's app may send a request to the sender'sapp for additional information. The request for additional informationmay include identifying information for the sender's reference, such asthe group identifier and message identifier.

If the group identifier belongs to an existing secure chat room, theprocess proceeds to block 930, where the receiver's app determineswhether the message is from a participant of the secure chat room. Forexample, the receiver's app may compare the sender of the message to theparticipant list stored on the receiver's device. If the sender does notappear on the sender's list, then the process proceeds to block 945,where the receiver's app transmits a request for additional informationto the sender.

When the receiver's app determines that the message is from a securechat room participant, the process proceeds to block 935 where thereceived message is associated with the existing room and/or group.Accordingly, the decrypted message is provided to the secure chat roomin block 940. Providing the decrypted message may include displaying thetext of the message or rendering content that was provided in themessage. Further, the message may be recorded in the local database onthe participant's device. In preferred embodiments, the communicationsis recorded as a transaction in a block chain stored in theparticipant's device, as discussed above.

When the participant's app makes a request to the sender's app forfailing to recognize the received message, the sender may respond withthe information requested by the receiver in block 950. This responsemay include transaction history for the secure chat room, as well asdetails for how the participant's app may retrieve the message. That is,the sender's app may retrieve metadata, the message identifier, and themessage encryption key from their local database and provide itparticipant via an encrypted communication. In some embodiments, thesender's app may provide metadata and message identifier(s) for all ofthe control messages for the secure chat room to the participant's appsuch that the participant's app may determine the state of the securechat room. Alternatively, the sender's app may provide metadata andmessage identifier(s) for both control messages and standardcommunications to allow the participant's app to determine the state ofthe secure chat room and update communications, if necessary.

In block 955, the receiver's app may retrieve the message(s) using thedetails contained in the sender's response. According to preferredembodiments, the receiver's app may provide the information receivedfrom the sender to the security platform. For example, the receiver'sapp may provide the metadata and message identifier(s) to the securityplatform. The security platform may then provide the receiver with themessage(s) that correspond to the information received from the sender.In block 960, the receiver's app validates the information contained inthe messages obtained from the security platform to obtain the state ofthe secure chat room. For example, the receiver's app may validate thesender, the message identifier, and the message key. As noted above, thesender may provide the receiver with the message encryption key todecrypt the message. In these embodiments, the receiver's app would nothave to perform the steps required to decrypt the message encryption keysince the receiver app is already in possession of the key needed todecrypt the message. Accordingly, the message is decrypted using themessage key received from the sender and provided to the secure chatroom in block 965.

Turning to FIG. 10, an exemplary process for responding to a receiver'srequest for additional information is shown. In block 1010, the senderwould receive the request from a receiver regarding a sent message. Asnoted above, the request may include the group identifier and themessage identifier. Accordingly, the sender's app extracts the groupidentifier and the message identifier from the receiver's request inblock 1020. In block 1030, the sender's app retrieves the additionalinformation requested from the receiver from his or her local databasebased on the extracted information. The information retrieved by thesender's app provides details such that the receiver's app may obtainthe referenced message(s) from the security platform. In this regard,the information may include metadata, the message identifier, and themessage encryption key. Alternatively, the sender's app may provideinformation to the receiver's app to obtain updated state information ofthe secure chat room. Once the information is retrieved by the sender'sapp, it is provided to the receiver, via an encrypted message, in block1040.

Periodically, the settings and preferences of the secure chat room mayneed to be updated. For example, the TTL may change or participants maybe added or removed from the secure chat room. FIG. 11 illustrates anexemplary process for making changes to a secure chat room.

In block 1110, a receiver app receives a control message updating atleast one secure room parameter. The secure room parameters may includeupdating the TTL or the participant list. In block 1120, the receiverapp verifies that the control message was sent by a room administrator.This verification may include comparing the sender to the participantlist maintained on the receiver's device. If the sender is not a roomadministrator, then the control message is discarded in block 1140.However, if the control message originated from a room administrator,the process proceeds to block 1130 where the secure room parameters areupdated on the receiver's device. For example, the TTL of the messagesin the secure chat room may change. In another example, the participantlist may be updated. That is, participants may be added or removed fromthe secure chat room. According to preferred embodiments, the securechat room may display a message in the chat room reflecting the updatedroom parameters. For instance, the secure chat room may display that theTTL has changed from one value to another or that certain participantshave been added to or removed from the room.

Additionally, participants of secure chat rooms may need to catch-up onmissed communications, especially in response to the conditionsdiscussed above. Alternatively, users may update their deviceperiodically, or get a new device if their old device were lost orstolen. Accordingly, participants need a way to catch-up or recover andrestore chat room messages to their new devices. FIG. 12 shows anexemplary process for restoring chat room messages to participants'devices.

In block 1210, a “Recover Lost Communications” message is received froma requester. According to some embodiments, the recovery message istransmitted in response to being unable to recognize a message. Asdiscussed above, a message may be received from a user that does notappear on a participant list or the receiver's app may be unable toresolve the group identifier. Alternatively, a recovery message may betransmitted when the requester received a message for a secure chatroom. In this regard, the requester sends the recovery message to thesender of the received message. Alternatively, the requester may be anadministrator of the security platform.

In block 1220, the sender's app determines which communications therequester was a participant. In preferred embodiments, determiningwhether the requester was a participant in the secure chat room mayinclude going through the block chain stored locally in the sender'slocal database to determine when the requester was a participant in thesecure chat room. In embodiments where the requester is anadministrator, all communications of the secure chat room may beprovided to the requesting device.

In block 1230, a communication information array is generated includinginformation identifying the messages that are to be provided to therequester. As noted above, this may include messages that the requesterwas a participant for or the entirety of the secure chat room history.The communication information array includes at least the messageidentifier(s), the group identifier, and the message encryption key(s)for each message being provided to the requester. According to someembodiments, the communication information array does not includecontrol messages because the requester knows state of room from the mostrecent communication.

In block 1240, the communication information array is transmitted to therequester. Accordingly, the requester may use the information in thecommunication information array to obtain the messages from the securityplatform. Further, the requester may use the message encryption keysprovided in the communication information array to decrypt the messages.In this regard, the requester may be able to recover and restore securecommunications transmitted to the secure chat room.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detailfor purposes of clarity of understanding, the present disclosure is notlimited to the details provided. There are many alternative ways ofimplementing the present disclosure. The disclosed embodiments areillustrative and not restrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a processor configured to:participate, on a sender device, in a secure chat room with a pluralityof participants, wherein the secure chat room is managed in adistributed manner by the plurality of participants; receive, on thesender device, a request from a first participant included in theplurality of participants regarding a first encrypted messagetransmitted by the sender, wherein the request includes informationidentifying for which secure chat room the first encrypted message isintended; extract, on the sender device, the identifying informationfrom the received request; retrieve, on the sender device, secure chatroom information from a local database on the sender's device inresponse to extracting the identifying information, wherein the securechat room information is stored in a block chain in the local database;encrypt, on the sender device, the secure chat room informationretrieved from the sender's local database with a first encryption key;and transmit, from the sender device, the encrypted secure chat roominformation to the first participant; and a memory coupled to theprocessor and configured to provide the processor with instructions. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the secure chat room information includesat least one of metadata, a second message identifier, and a messageencryption key.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the informationidentifying the secure chat room is at least one of a group identifierand a first message identifier.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thesecure chat room information includes state information of the securechat room.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the secure chat roominformation includes both control messages and communications associatedwith the secure chat room.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: encrypt the sender's local databasewith a local storage key.
 7. A method, comprising: participating, on asender device, in a secure chat room with a plurality of participants,wherein the secure chat room is managed in a distributed manner by theplurality of recipients; receiving, on the sender device, a request froma first participant included in the plurality of participants regardinga first encrypted message transmitted by the sender, wherein the requestincludes information identifying for which secure chat room the firstencrypted message is intended; extracting, on the sender device, theidentifying information from the received request; retrieving, on thesender device, secure chat room information from a local database on thesender's device in response to extracting the identifying information,wherein the secure chat room information is stored in a block chain inthe local database; encrypting, on the sender device, the secure chatroom information with a first encryption key; and transmitting, from thesender device, the encrypted secure chat room information to the firstparticipant.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the secure chat roominformation includes at least one of metadata, a second messageidentifier, and a message encryption key.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein the information identifying the secure chat room is at least oneof a group identifier and a first message identifier.
 10. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the secure chat room information includes stateinformation of the secure chat room.
 11. The method of claim 7, whereinthe secure chat room information includes both control messages andcommunications associated with the secure chat room.
 12. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising encrypting the sender's local database witha local storage key.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising instructions that when, executed by at least one processor,perform the steps of: participating, on a sender device, in a securechat room with a plurality of participants, wherein the secure chat roomis managed in a distributed manner by the plurality of recipients;receiving, on the sender device, a request from a first participantincluded in the plurality of participants regarding a first encryptedmessage transmitted by the sender, wherein the request includesinformation identifying for which secure chat room the first encryptedmessage is intended; extracting, on the sender device, the identifyinginformation from the received request; retrieving, on the sender device,secure chat room information from a local database on the sender'sdevice in response to extracting the identifying information, whereinthe secure chat room information is stored in a block chain in the localdatabase; encrypting, on the sender device, the secure chat roominformation with a first encryption key; and transmitting, from thesender device, the encrypted secure chat room information to the firstparticipant.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim13, wherein the secure chat room information includes at least one ofmetadata, a second message identifier, and a message encryption key. 15.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein theinformation identifying the secure chat room is at least one of a groupidentifier and a first message identifier.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the secure chat roominformation includes state information of the secure chat room.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the securechat room information includes both control messages and communicationsassociated with the secure chat room.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions furthercomprise: encrypting the sender's local database with a local storagekey.